Monday, January 14, 2013

Reversible Chevron Rug: a tutorial

If there's one thing I've found while shopping to furnish my apartment, it's that a good rug is expensive. Even lower-quality, machine made rugs aren't cheap. I wanted to add a little something to my kitchen without spending more than $50 to do it. When I saw this upholstery fabric at my favorite fabric shop in Dallas, I instantly thought it would make a great rug. It was thick enough that I thought it might actually work and I love the fun pop that it adds to my kitchen floor. I'm not normally a big chevron fan, but for some reason this black/tan linen-y blend really rubbed me the right way.

I wasn't positive that this make-my-own-rug theory would work out, but I'm happy to report that it feels durable, thick, and doesn't slide around in the least bit (with a rug pad). It actually feels better than a lot of similar rugs I've seen in stores. I'm confident that you could make a rug with virtually any upholstery fabric- oh the possibilities! And you could make a reversible rug for different moods or seasons. Maybe a spring-y yellow for April, and a pretty ivory for December. You could change the whole feel of the room with a flip of your rug. This project cost me well under $50 at about $30 total, woo hoo!

I would recommend using this on hard floors, however, I'm not sure it would be best on carpet under heavy furniture.

Let's get started!

Materials:

1 yard Printed Upholstery Fabric

1 yard Duck Cloth

1 spool of Upholstery Thread

If your fabrics are already the same width, all you will have to do is cut off the selvages of each fabric. If not, cut your fabric to the same dimensions. ( I cut mine to 36" x 50")

It's not necessary, but I took the time to serge the edges of my fabric. It saved me from dealing with fraying when I turned my rug right side out. It makes it feel a little more professional too.

I used a .5" seam allowance and sewed all the way around, leaving about a 10" gap at one end.

Snip out the extra fabric at all four corners. It reduces bulk and helps your corners turn out nicely.

Using the gap you left, turn your rug right-side out. Use a hot iron to help shape your rug. You'll also need a pointed object to help turn out your corners.

Turn in the edges of the gap so that it fleshes with the rest of the rug.

Finally, close up that gap with a quick top-stitch. You can continue the stitch all the way around if you'd like.

And that's it! Easy peasy.

Make sure to slap one of these underneath to prevent sliding and you're all set.

I love that this enables you to make a rug in a non-standard size. You could make one that's the perfect size for the space you have in mind.

The pictures really don't do it justice. It's much more grand in person. Brings me a little joy everytime I'm in the kitchen (:

You know, this is a great idea not only because it saves money; you can also make your rug to any custom shape or size. My kitchen has a weird peninsula shaped like the end of a hockey stick and I can't find a rug that fits in front of the sink as well as the angled space to the left, where I stand with my cutting board. With your method, I could make my own for an exact fit.

Hey, I had an idea -- you know that fabric with the grippy white dot bumps on the right side, the stuff they sell for the soles of the feet when you make footsie pajamas for kids? I wonder if you could use that for the rug backing to prevent slipping instead of a separate rug pad? What do you think?

HI i am glad i stumbled upon this on pinterest. I never thought of making your own rug. I wonder though, could you "stuff" it with some sort of padding if you wanted it to be a little soft to stand on? Like perhaps to dress up one of those memory foam rugs that are supposed to keep your legs from getting tired? just a thought.